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Architectural Design - 3rd Quarter 1999 Status Report

Program of Computer Graphics

A. Equipment and Installation

In 1999 the project received a Dell 550 MHz Pentium III workstation under the Technology for Education program. This workstation has been installed in the Program of Computer Graphics for research to support advanced architectural rendering, taking advantage of the additional capabilities of the Pentium III instruction set.

B. Design Studio Teaching

We have now taught the undergraduate architectural design class associated with this project for two semesters as a full-time Design Studio. We began with a pilot three-credit course in the Fall 1998 Semester which, at the urging of the Architecture Department Faculty, was upgraded to a full six-credit Design Studio for the Spring 1999 and Fall 1999 Semesters. The course is not a CAD studio to teach technology, but a true Design Studio where student work is evaluated on design merit rather than technical achievement.

The Studios have been co-taught by Donald Greenberg and Moreno Piccolotto. The Spring 1999 Studio was also co-taught by Sunil Bald, then a visiting critic in the Architecture Department. Mr. Piccolotto is a Research Associate in the Program of Computer Graphics and a visiting critic in the Architecture Department. He completed his M.S. degree in Architectural Science in August of 1998, and has been a team leader in our architectural sketch design research since 1996. Mr. Piccolotto brings to the project expertise in software and user-interface design as well as considerable architectural design and teaching experience.

Due to restricted equipment and space in Rand Hall or Sibley, the Design Studios are being taught in a block of four rooms on the fourth floor of Rhodes Hall. This fall, we have increased the class size from 8 to 12 students.

Despite the demanding workload, student response to the new Design Studio has been very enthusiastic. Demand for both semesters has been high, and we have been able to admit fewer than half the students who have requested spaces.

The course outline and projects may be viewed at http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/academic/archartpcg/

C. Research

For this year, our primary research is addressing the need to design in context. We will accomplish this by combining images captured photographically in a real environment or rendered from a synthetic environment with our current 3D design tools. The ability to register sketch designs with photorealistic renderings will significantly advance the state of the art, and provide a contextual richness for architectural design which would never be possible without the computer. 

Our partnership with the Intel Corporation has enabled us to advance our research farther and faster. At the same time, having access to the most recent technology improves the quality of the educational experience at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Our project has attracted the interest and support of the Autodesk Corporation, and we have established a working relationship that brings staff from the Autodesk Ithaca offices into our lab for regular meetings and discussions. As the major producer of design software for a number of professions, including architecture, Autodesk has asked our help in defining the next generation of architectural design software. While still in early development stages, the commercial software they develop will include many conceptual design elements as well as support for Internet-based collaborative design.

D. Recent Graduates

PCG graduate student Corey Toler has completed her degree requirements and defended her thesis in September, 1999 and will receive her Masters of Science in Architecture degree in January, 2000. During her final year of study, Corey completed the port of her research software to Windows NT and tested her perspective teaching modules in the Design Studios.

Last modified on: 10/19/99